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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Top 10 Bollywood movies of the year 2008 ( Among the ones I have seen )

Hey All,

Its time for me to give you the list of the TOP 10 movies I saw this year and that does not mean that they were the best..I am giving the list of top 10 movies I saw in 2008 and regrettably it has some real shockers, but then the one's omitted were even worse.. I found it really difficult to fill the final few spots and I must say that I hope this year is better, coz quiet frankly, 2008 was a year worth forgetting. The last few films are the best of the worst ( according to me -with all biases in place) and hence have made it.

In 2008, we saw big films like Tashan, Drona, 2050: Love story, Mission Istanbul and Yuvvraaj turning out to be the Biggest turkeys. 2008 truly highlighted "The Bigger you are, the harder you fall". Small budget films boomed in this abysmal time and gave us the much needed ray of hope. They touched topics which were topical and unconventional. But then 2008 also showed us why Bollywood is still ruled by its Heroes. Sinngh is King, Rab Ne Banaa Di Jodi and Ghajini, though completely mindless, entertained the public to the end of their wits and brought in the dough, which was so lacking in the industry. Everything is secondary, the protagonist rules, the superstar rules.. And I believe this will remain the norm. But its heartening to see that Small Budget movies with good stories are getting their share of the space and are here to stay....


No 10 - Ghajini - At the bottom of my top 10 is the All brawn no brain, highest grosser in history movie, Ghajini. Yeah, I know you must be thinking "What the ...." but I couldnt help myself. I had to think long and hard to decide which one of the 3 should make it here "Dostana, Fashion or Ghajini" and being a die-hard Aamir Fan and taking into consideration Aamir and Asin, I went with Ghajini. Also, because I liked bits of Ghajini better than either of the other 2 movies. It was more like choosing the best of the worst. (BTW - Rab ne banaa di jodi, Sinngh is King were never ever in the reckoning).

No 9 - Mithya - This movie had rave reviews of being this awesome black comedy a`la Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, but it did not make a lot of sense to me. Slick editing would have made this movie far better than it finally turned out to be. But then solid performances and witty dialogues did make it a fun watch.

No 8 - Tahaan - No ,, not Tashan....!!! Tahaan was a light hearted movie set in Kashmir. Heavily inspired by Iranian Movies, this movie was a Fable of a small boy's journey to get back his friend Tahaan, a donkey. It touched a sensitive topic of people disappearing in Kashmir and the prevalent Terrorism, but the central story was simple and sweet.

No 7 - Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa - This movie succeeded more because 2050:Love story released along with it and less because it was a decent movie. With a decent story, some decent acting and awesome music ( Kabhi Kabhi Aditi - my vote for best song of 2008 ) this movie did win more than a few hearts. It was indeed a very good first attempt by the director as well as the actors. Overall a timepass film, which was not at all bad.

No 6 - Rock On - Probably a few might think, it should have been a lot higher than 6, but I felt the movie lacked heart. It had some great music and awesome performances, but somewhere the story stopped short of good. The screenplay itself was slow and even though it tried reaching the heights of "Dil Chahta Hai" or "Jhankaar Beats", it did not. None the less, a movie worth watching.

No 5 - A wednesday - This fast paced movie received a lot of critical and commercial acclaim and was in truest sense India's answer to Hollywood run of the mill potboilers. A wednesday remained true to its story and the director stayed away from commercialising it. Anupam Kher and Naseer gave enough evidence of their class. An immensly enjoyable film, A Wednesday, vented the fury bellowing in the bellies of millions of Indians and showed what would happen if an ordinary citizen would take responsibility into his own hands. Hopefully a precursor to many such fast paced thrillers.

No 4 - Aamir - What a movie, to start off the year. This movie kicked off 2008 with a bang. With a great story, gripping screenplay and some cool background music, this movie had all the elements of an international film. Aamir touched the most topical subject of terrorism and weaved an awesome 24 hour saga. This movie was certainly worth more than a watch. With an extremely thin budget, this movie has shown how good cinema needs talent and good intentions, not buckets of money.

No 3 - Dasvidaaniya - Certainly, Dasvidaaniya, would win hands down for the most endearing and feel good movie of the year. Again a small bedget film with its heart in the right place. The "rain confession scene" remains one of the best moments in cinema for me this year. With Vinay Pathak playing the role he has perfected and a lovely story, this movie made me smile and I hope to see it again very soon. The best part is , this film never takes itself too seriously and hence remains brisk and happy. A story of a dieing man fulfilling his dieing wishes is certainly cliched, but then sometimes it's the storytelling that matters more than a story.

No 2 - Jodha Akbar - Azeemo Shaan Shehenshaa, Marhabbaa.... Jodha Akbar was one Big Budget movie which lived up to my expectations. Ashutosh Gowarikar's magnum opus gets this high a ranking for its sheer magnificence. Hritik and Ash made form a stunning couple and thier love story was potrayed beautifully, enhanced by their electric chemistry. The songs were brilliant and the scale at which some of its songs and battle sequences were shot are unparralled in Indian cinema. Even though many would not agree ( slating the movie as boring) , I sure felt it had the requisite pace and was made with utmost sincerity. A Jashn-E-bahara it was...

No 1 - Mumbai Meri Jaan - Yes, Mumbai Meri Jaan. A complex story, with complex characters in complex situations. Yet, handled so simply. Mumbai Meri Jaan wins my vote for the best movie of the year, not just because it was made on the Mumbai train blasts, but because it delved into the psyche of various individuals with aplomb. Bomb blast was just the common point, what was amazing was how the director was able to handle characters of such diverse walks of life with such precision. Paresh Rawal gave his best performance till date and so did in my opinion Soha Ali. A mature film, an intelligent film, which payed attention to nuances of not only the human psyche but also Mumbai ( which is certainly my Jaan)!!!

So, there you go.... I hope I didnt bore you a lot today, neither throughout the year and I hope I did help you in your choice of cinema. I promise to continue this work in the next year and I promise to be as Biased as ever. Here's wishing for an amazing time at the Box Office in 2009.

Yours truly,
Viru urf Vicks

p.s. : will be back with my top 10 Hollywood picks later..
(( 1 movie I missed - that could have made it :
1920 - I heard it had some stunning visual effects. ))

9 comments:

ArvIND said...

1 or 2 scenes were good in 1920..it should have released in 1920!!
I agree with your top 10 - 2008 was bad as far as big budget movies are concerned - I see the trend continuing - also fortunately I havent seen Tashan,Love story 2050,Rab ne bana di jodi,Heroes as of now - no intention of seeing them also!!
Ghajini should itself lucky that so many poor films were made!It must have barely made it!!

Anonymous said...

Viru,

i thought Aamir and Wednesday should have been higher on the list... guess Aamir was for me the movie of the year...

Anonymous said...

yaa i agree with ur top 10.
Wen will our movie figure in such blogs?...i wonder!!

Anonymous said...

ohh i just ur list again...how can u put Jodha Akbar on no.2..I bet that was a mistake...it shud b at a 5 or even a 4 at best...I agree with Hari. Aamir deserves to be up on the list..Jodha Akbar can no way match Aamir. May b u also considered box office collections. Then by that logic wheres Singh is Kinng & RNBDJ!!

Anonymous said...

i just remembered another movie which i thot was good... maharathi starring paresh rawal, naseeruddin shah, om puri... guess it def shd be thr in the top 10 movies...

ViruS said...

Hari -- yeah I guess it shud have, But I missed it... hard luck ... will catch it though...

Pavs --- Absolutely not,,, I did not bring the box office into the picture bro... I had given Jodha Akbar a 7.5 when I first reviewed it, coz I loved the film. Its a Big film, highly complex and executed very well... Its one thing to make a slick, fast paced low budget thriller like Aamir and quiet another to be able to handle Huge sets with hundreds of people in one shot,,, higher risks - higher returns bro....

ViruS said...

hey hari n pavs , I would love to know ur top 10... do list them in the comments please in the order you feel is right...

Anonymous said...

viru bhaai..a wednesday is where don't agree with you..not commercial..it was down reight commercial flick..what bout jimmy shergill's nonsense..what bout the anupam kher's initial acting..loud and show shine..and that reporter role and acting..so many of the scenes were hard to digest..although i agree the film was in the end good..but definetly comercialised unecessarily..
Jodha Akbar also very hard to digest at 3..may be dasvidaniya..or even aamir..could have been higher..nt only was it long but also the central characters looked out of place..hmm not worth 3 i guess..but only an opinion..

Karen said...

I really want to see Rock On. Good list!

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